Betrayal by Lee Nichols

For Review: Bloomsbury
Published: 5 September 2011

From Goodreads:  Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great for battling the wraith-master Neos and horrible for her social life. Emma knows fellow ghostkeeper Bennett Stern is her soul mate, but when ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power. And until Neos is defeated, Bennett and Emma can't risk it.


When the temptation of being with Emma gets to be too much, Bennett disappears, pursuing a dangerous path to increase his powers. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school. But when the Knell, a secret ghostkeeping society, sends two new ghostkeepers to Echo Point—one a snarky teen guy, the other a British scholar—Emma throws herself into training to battle Neos. But as the team grows stronger, so do the ghosts. And worse, one of their own will betray them. One Emma never suspected. . . .

Having really enjoyed Deception I picked up this one as soon as I'd finished the first one.

Now that Emma knows she is a Ghostkeeper and understands what it means she throws herself into her role. This installment is much more action packed than the first and there is still the romance and mystery element to keep me hooked!

The characters really develop in this one too. Emma becomes much stronger - and more accepting of her abilities. Her relationship with Bennett is still a driving force of the story but he was absent too much for my liking. We know why he's not staying near Emma but I really missed their interactions. But when he was present the scenes were awesome!

Some new characters are introduced and I loved them! I also have really taken to Natalie - I really think she is a good friend for Emma. And I loved learning more about Emma's family.

Again the story surprised me. It is completely unpredictable - I had no idea what was going to happen and I couldn't wait to find out. I am so looking forward to the third book - Surrender - when it's published! More please!

Betrayals by Lili St Crow

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR STRANGE ANGELS

From Goodreads: Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she's just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn't entirely human. (So what else is new?) Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England Schola for other teens like her, and there's a big problem - she's the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn't be so bad, but Dru's killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . . Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust - and maybe even her heart?

I really, really enjoyed this. Unlike Strange Angels it started with good momentum and kept it up throughout, incorporating some standout action scenes. Dru was slightly down beat but I felt this was to be expected considering everything that’s happened recently and gave it a sense of realism. Christophe was still intriguing but I want to see more of him in the next book otherwise I think it’s just going to become annoying – there are so many questions that need answering. I absolutely loved how Graves progressed in this – he was adorable in the first book but after this one he’s fast becoming my favourite character and I love his relationship with Dru. There are also some other characters that are introduced – Dibb’s was my favourite of these (very sweet!).

I find the mythology created here is fantastic – but it can get a bit confusing at times to keep track of all the different things – so a glossary would really help keep it all straight! The ending was good and although it's not strictly a cliff hanger ending the book does feel like it's Part 2 of a longer story.

Overall I really enjoyed it and this is becoming one of my favourite series. I’ve been surprised by people's disappointment with the first book (Strange Angels) and am wondering if this is going to be one of those series you either love or hate? I love it and can’t wait until July when Jealousy is released.

(Click here for a synopsis of Jealousy – WARNING it does contain spoilers for the two previous books)